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Major Accident Rate for Airlines Hits Low

By

Andy Pasztor And

Doug Cameron

Updated Feb. 23, 2011 9:02 p.m. ET

Airlines notched their lowest global rate for major accidents ever last year, even as the industry's biggest international trade group prepares to launch a new safety campaign focused on identifying potential maintenance lapses.

Preliminary 2010 accident statistics released Wednesday by the International Air Transport Association underscore how much safer commercial flying has become in the last decade, with the rate of major crashes involving Western-built airliners declining to a record low. But with the overall number...